Bruce Beresford

Bruce Beresford (b. 1940) went to Sydney University before moving to London in the early 1960s. He worked as a film-editor in Nigeria and for Britain's Film Institute Production Board before teaming with Barry Humphries to make The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) and Barry McKenzie Holds his Own (1974). Successful at the box-office, these scandalous productions met with a less than bonzer reception from critics. But Beresford quickly established himself as a key figure in Australia's film renaissance with such classics as Don's Party (1976), The Getting of Wisdom (1977), Breaker Morant (1980) and The Club (1980). Robert McFarlane's photograph shows Beresford on the set of Puberty Blues (1981), the last film he made here before his Hollywood debut Tender Mercies (1983), which earned him an Oscar nomination for best director. His 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy won four Academy Awards, including best picture - although Beresford himself was notoriously overlooked for nomination in the direction category. His subsequent pictures have included the acclaimed Black Robe (1991), Last Dance (1996), Double Jeopardy (1999) and the HBO production And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003).